328 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 338. 



dumosa, sometimes called the Dwarf Huckleberry, though it 

 is no more dwarf than G. resinosa. At this season the chief 

 difference will be noticed in the much duller black color of 

 the fruits of G. dumosa, which are also covered with minute 

 rusty brown glandular hairs. The berries are also produced 

 on very leafy peduncles and are accompanied by green leaf- 

 like bracts, and the calyx-lobes are much larger and more 

 conspicuous. It is curious that this fruit should have been 

 described as insipid in some of the Botanies, for to many per- 

 sons it has a pleasant and agreeable flavor, although its duller 

 color and rusty-hairy character and tougher skin are ob- 

 jectionable. 



Of all our northern hardy species of this genus the fruit of 

 the Huckleberry known as the Dangleberry or Blue Tangle, 

 Gaylussacia frondosa, is considered the best-flavored and 

 most palatable by many good judges. It is sweet and pleasant, 

 with a slight agreeable acidity, and either fresh or cooked it is 

 hardly surpassed by any other Huckleberry or Blueberry. The 

 berries are of a deep blue color, covered by a rich bluish 

 white bloom. The leaves and young twigs of the whole plant 

 are generally pale or glaucous. The bush may often be found 

 from three to five or six feet in height, but in this region it 

 does not appear to be prolific, and there is some trouble in 

 getting a large quantity of the berries. These are generally 

 produced in a somewhat scattered manner on long slender 

 stalks, from which habit the plant gets the name Dangleberry. 



Arnold Arboretum. J . G. Jack. 



The Vegetable-garden. 



MANY crops in the vegetable-garden were injured by the 

 dry weather of June and July. The total rainfall in this 

 locality was only 2.05 inches, and as the rain came in heavy 

 thunder-showers and fell on a parched surface much of it ran 

 off into the drains instead of soaking into the ground. Peas 

 suffered more, perhaps, than any other crop, and were literally 

 burnt up. The later sowings now look more promising, 

 having been helped by recent rains, but it is too late to make 

 any further sowings on account of mildew. If the weather is 

 not too dry, good peas can be had in September from sowings 

 made about the middle of July. String Beans may still be 

 planted for a late crop, and these will do well unless caught 

 by an early frost. We find Valentine the best variety for late 

 planting. . 



Early celery is now ready for use. Where the plants are set 

 in single rows we prefer blanching with boards to earthing up. 

 The notion that Celery thus treated is deficient in flavor to that 

 banked with soil, is erroneous. When the plants are earthed 

 up in hot weather, such as we have had recently, any consid- 

 erable rainfall causes the hearts of the stalks to rot. By using 

 boards this injury is obviated and the plants can be regularly 

 supplied with water, which cannot be done when they are 

 earthed up. Celery thus treated is crisp and sweet, whereas 

 when earthed up and it becomes dry at the root, the growth is 

 stopped and it is tough, stringy and bitter. In prolonged dry 

 weather Celery requires copious waterings. A cool showery 

 day should be selected on which to apply liquid-manure, if 

 this is possible, and in any event the earth about the plants 

 should be well-soaked with clean water before the liquid- 

 manure is given. For a late crop of Celery the plants must 

 be set out now without delay, or poor heads only will be pro- 

 duced. Celery is a moisture-loving plant, and should never 

 be allowed to suffer for water. If kept growing continuously 

 it is not likely to be troubled seriously by rust and other 

 diseases. 



Shallots are about ready to be taken out of the ground, and 

 Onions are almost in condition to be pulled up. Onions are 

 generally small this season, but several soakings of water 

 during the season, applied with a sprinkler, have helped our 

 crop, so that it is above the average of other years. After the 

 Onions are cleared off we fertilize the ground with some 

 chemical manure, point it over and sow Prickly Spinach. 



Rutabagas and Beets may yet be sown for a late crop. We 

 find Early Egyptian to be the most reliable Beet. A batch of 

 Cauliflower should now be planted in well-enriched soil, and 

 fine heads will be produced if they have the right treatment. 

 Cabbage, Savoy Cabbage and Curled Borecole may also be 

 planted at this time, and occasional sowings of Lettuce and 

 Raddish seed in the open should not be neglected. This has 

 been a trying summer for Lettuce, but better heads may now 

 be expected. 



Cucumbers growing out-of-doors should be looked over 

 every few days and the old fruit cut off. The English variety 

 should now be set out in frames for late crops, and a further 



sowing made, the plants from which can be grown on at the 

 end of a warm house. Muskmelons should be examined oc- 

 casionally and all fruit of a fair size raised to the light on a 

 small block of wood or a flower-pot, to prevent rotting during 

 wet weather. 



Potatoes have ripened much earlier than usual on account 

 of the dry weather. Advantage should now be taken of clear, 

 bright days to harvest them, for heavy rainfalls would do them 

 serious injury. Sweet-potatoes have reveled in our recent 

 tropical weather. The vines require to be lifted from the 

 ground each week as they root at every joint if left undis- 

 turbed. Tomatoes on trellises need trimming once a week, 

 and plants in hills should have some of the superfluous shoots 

 removed so the sunlight may reach the fruit. The ripe fruit 

 should be gathered so that the later fruit may fill out and ripen. 



The hoe should be used freely for all growing crops and the 

 surface be kept well stirred. Peas, Corn and other vegetable 

 plants should be removed to the rubbish heap as soon as they 

 are spent. If this is done and the weeds are kept well under, 

 the vegetable-garden will be attractive during the fall season, 

 when it often is most disorderly. 



Taunton, Mass. W. N. Craig. 



Carentan Carrot. — I have this season made extensive trials of 

 almost every kind of Carrot, to learn which is the best. They 

 have been grown in a soil best suited to Carrots — that is, a free 

 sandy loam — and the weather conditions have been favorable 

 for perfect development. Growing modestly beside Danvers, 

 which was rearing its rank tops, I noticed a variety with very 

 small and delicate foliage. This is a notable feature in a Car- 

 rot, especially when needed for forcing or use in a small gar- 

 den. The roots I found to be seven inches long, perfectly 

 round, free from "rings" and rootlets, with a small stump- 

 root. It was perfectly free from the woody core so prominent 

 in many varieties, and remarkably tender and sweet. When I 

 add that this variety is just as early as the French Forcing 

 Carrot, its value will be apparent. It is amazing that vegeta- 

 bles comparatively rank and coarse are grown when such re- 

 fined delicacies may be had with no greater outlay of labor 

 and money. For cultivation in a private garden this Caren- 

 tan Carrot I believe to be the best variety for summer use. 



Bloomfield, N. J. W. R. S. 



Correspondence. 



Notes from West Virginia. 

 To the Editor of Garden and Forest : 



Sir, — Though few shrubs are now in bloom, their dense 

 foliage forms an attractive background for the showy flowers 

 of many herbaceous perennials on the margins of beds. Tall 

 Campanulas and gay-colored Phloxes grow among the lesser 

 shrubs. The fragrant Clethras are just fading. Here and 

 there are large clumps of the native Oenotheras, (E. biennis, 

 self-sown, and several handsome varieties of Asclepias, nota- 

 bly A. tuberosa, and a bright pink-flowered Milkweed, which 

 are allowed to bloom at will in the wilder parts of the home- 

 grounds. Near the house are fine groups of Day Lilies or 

 Funkias, the white-flowered, the blue Day Lily and the varie- 

 gated varieties — all now at their best. 



Several species of small-flowered Clematis, now in bloom, 

 are scrambling over dead trees and the old stone-wall that 

 surrounds the grove, and the scarlet Trumpet Creeper, Te- 

 coma radicans, riots over the palings and clothes the rock- 

 brakes with a fresh mantle of green, holding up its deep 

 red goblets as an invitation to the humming-birds. 



An interesting group of blooming shrubs has for its centre 

 a tall Aralia spinosa, just coming into flower. The feathery 

 blossoms, in large umbelliferous panicles, give the plant an 

 airy elegance which makes it a worthy companion to Osbeck's 

 Sumach, Rhus semialata, which is the most graceful of its 

 class. Its delicate cream-colored florets opened a few days 

 before those of the Aralia, and are still in their prime. 



Near by is a handsome large Chaste-tree, Vitex Agnus- 

 castus, covered with its paniculate cymes of bright bluish 

 purple blossoms. The leaves of this shrub are aromatic, re- 

 sembling those of the Walnut, but with a more powerful 

 fragrance. The sap of the Chaste-tree is quite poisonous, as 

 I once found to my cost. Having a tendency to browse 

 and nibble among my plants, I experimented with odorous 

 twigs of the Vitex. A sore mouth was, however, the worst 

 consequence of the task in which I indulged. 



Very charming at this season are the large bright red hips of 

 the Rugosa Roses, and I can even recommend them to the 

 palate of the curious. They are as large as crab-apples and 



